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AIBU?

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Abandoned at 6 weeks pregnant - AIBU to shut down?

418 replies

NattyEagle · 24/09/2026 14:04

I cannot believe I am typing this but my now ex “partner”of 2 years has given me an ultimatum. Have an abortion and we carry on as a couple, or keep the pregnancy and I will never see his face again. As soon as he said this, we were done!

His initial reaction was apprehensive - I thought it was fair. But I NEVER would have imagined hed do a runner. When I first told him I was pregnant he made it clear that he wasn’t going anywhere - it just wasn't the best time. 3 days later he gave the ultimatum. He was as cold as ice.

He’s being manipulative and saying “don’t let any man tell you what to do, if you want to keep it, that’s fine, but I will not be there”. He had a truth dump and admitted to being a terrible father to his other two kids, beating them, being abusive, and basically not enjoying fatherhood. He loves them “sometimes” but cannot stand the responsibility. The entire time we were together I never met his kids but he claimed to be father of the year, pretending to see them and be with them.

I’ve cut contact with him and blocked him yesterday!

Hes ruined this. He was the one who told me not to take the morning after pill! We agreed we would see what would happen regarding family planning and a baby. Hed go up and down but always maintained it woild be a good thing.

i had a bad feeling that I’ve misjudged who this man is and contacted his ex who I have never spoken to.

she was an Angel and told me he has not seen his other two kids properly in two years due to social services intervention because he badly best their 9 year old. On top of that he was just a terrible terrible partner that financially abused her and beat her. He wouldn’t turn up to visits, ignore them for months at a time. No birthday cards….nothing. He also refused to divorce her and she had to get it done via court order. He told me they were divorced 3 weeks into us dating. The amount of lies exposed in our conversation was something out of a Netflix documentary. He told me she was a housewive….turns out she had 3 jobs while he paid for nothing. When her son was a baby she came home and he had bitten him! Hes a stranger. A stranger. I’m broken.

I basically have been with a compulsive liar and sociopath who saw our relationship as a bit of fun. I ignored a lot of red flags because I’m 34 abojt to turn 35 in December and I’m scared. I’m kicking myself for letting my loneliness consume me.

I don’t want to be pregnant anymore but already had a termination at 31 and cannot bring myself to take the pills. I feel no connection to the pregnancy anymore because of him, and am scared I’m romanticising motherhood out of fear of it not happening for me.

you know how some woman say “F U, I’m keeping it!”. That’s not me! It sounds horrible but I’d love to just have a miscarriage to take the choice out of my hands. I have no desire to be a single mother or raise the child of a compulsive liar. I don’t think I can love this child and heal from his lies. I’m also petrified this is my last chance to be a mum. I guess I’m clinging on to being pregnant - I felt so special and giddy in those short three days before my world was turned upside down.

please give advice and be soft with me. I want to be a mum but not like this. The abortion just feels….wrong. I’m 34 about to be 35. What if I never meet anyone? What if I do but we can’t get pregnant. The abortion I had at 31 was a massive massive relief. This feels like the hardest thing ever. I see no good outcome. Children abandoned by a parent seem to have a lot of trauma no matter how big the village.

my head is saying get rid of it and feel horrible because you deserve to. Deep down inside you knew who this man was and you played with fire because you were desperate. If you don’t have kids after this - that’s the way the cookie crumbles. The other side of my head is saying that I’m just grieving a massive loss and I will forgive him, come to peace with this, and love my child.

please give it to me straight and share your experiences because my brain is fried. I’m 5 weeks + 4

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
worstdaughter · Yesterday 00:18

I personally would not want to be tied to this man for the rest of my life. You deserve better

Bikenutz · 25/09/2026 23:41

You sound, very understandably, in shock. It’s a huge change in circumstances to adjust to, and rising pregnancy hormones can affect the way you feel. Sending you a big hug. And please please be gentle on yourself. These kinds of characters can come across as very convincing and charming 💐

I am pleased that you’re getting some benefit from the advice in this thread and accessing counselling.

I don’t have personal experience of your situation, but a couple of practical points - you aren’t very far along in the pregnancy, so you have TIME to consider your options before you act. I hear you that you’re worried about your future fertility, and instinctively I’d say you’re likely to be ok but nonetheless, time is on your side to seek professional advice on this.

I would also speak to your abortion provider to see if a surgical termination is possible, if that feels like a better option.

You will get through this, I promise.

Aristocat43 · 25/09/2026 22:51

Taking in all of the advice into account...
What would be your greatest regret?
This is a head versus heart situation.
I am sorry you find yourself in this position.

Romancingthestone · 25/09/2026 22:31

Sorry he is a coward.

Should have put something on the end of it or refrained from s*x if did not want to deal with consequences (if this wasn’t agreed in advance).

absolute man child

Enjoy the gift of life x. You can do this.

MumoftwoGirls11 · 25/09/2026 19:34

You will be giving an innocent child a horrible father if you go ahead. You don't want to do that.

As others have said, a sperm donor would be better, if you want a child.

Take a deep breath, be strong and do it. Don't wait.

Iris2020 · 25/09/2026 18:28

NattyEagle · 24/09/2026 21:22

How are you guys so sure that this can have no silver lining? Have any of you kept kids in these circumstances or is your privilege from being married and never meeting a man like this telling me to have a termination because you cannot imagine being in my shoes? If you can’t imagine being in my shoes, how do you know the right thing either way? I know it’s right to terminate but is the part of me that doesnt want to genuinely delusional? If you have not met or suffered a man like this, how do you actually know you would terminate?

OP.please give yourself just one weeknto make the decision.
You are all over the place understandably and right now you'll regret either decision.

Greenmouldycheese · 25/09/2026 18:23

I personally wouldnt go ahead with this pregnancy. You will be forever tied to this abusive man and you will be bringing a child into the world without a loving father. If it was layer in, then I would be in the fence but you are very early. Im so sorry 😞 this is awful

Sagarmatha · 25/09/2026 18:07

WhatNextImScared · 24/09/2026 14:14

Step one: end the relationship.
Step two: work out whether you would like to take this chance at motherhood, with him out of the picture

He might not be out of the picture. He's the dad.

TheSquareMile · 25/09/2026 17:59

@NattyEagle

When you say in the thread title, "AIBU to shut down?", what do you mean, OP?

DuckbilledSplatterPuff · 25/09/2026 15:41

AllezAllezPronto · 25/09/2026 07:30

@DuckbilledSplatterPuff If you read ALL by the OP she said that she had a counselling session YESTERDAY. she went on to say that the comments here were helping her more.

Not to say she couldn't do with more but will it even help her?

Thanks. I did miss that post. I'm glad she did.

One of my concerns was that she shouldn't give up on getting help and advice, as she hadn't got much from relatives and friends so far, and because she said she'd left and then taken him back several times, plus she said that their two families were close.

TFImBackIn · 25/09/2026 15:09

If you think you're not strong enough to take a couple of tablets, then do you think you're strong enough to have a baby? Are you strong enough to tell your child that its dad is a psychopath? Are you strong enough to tell your child that its dad bit their sibling? Are you strong enough to explain that the reason you have no money for extras is because their dad wouldn't give you a penny for your child and your parents are absolutely useless, too? Are you strong enough to deal with your child if it becomes like him as a teenager, calling you names, hitting you, telling you you're worthless? Read some of the threads on here where a teenager is absolutely awful to their mum and see if you can tell yourself that his child would be different.

You have to find the strength from somewhere. Taking the tablets won't affect your fertility. Having this dangerous man's child would be absolutely disastrous for you - you know that yet you think you're not strong enough to take the tablets. You really are - you have to find that strength in yourself.

NordicKnots · 25/09/2026 14:49

You mentioned that he made you suicidal in past and that the ambulance had to be called to your place a number of times due to abuse and how you felt.

Yet, despite that, you said you were so happy when you found out you were pregnant, and felt the calmest and happiest ever had for those few days, before he ruined it?

Even if we don’t take into account what you found out over the last three days, this is not good. He would not be the man I’d choose to stick around let alone have a child with.

I say this in the most kindest possible way - you don’t sound well, and instead of brining a life into the world in this set up, you should primarily focus on getting YOURSELF better, healthier and stronger.

Beachtastic · 25/09/2026 13:50

The thing is, he doesn't sound ADHD. He sounds like a psychopath.

Sotiredimightreallydie · 25/09/2026 13:20

AllezAllezPronto · 25/09/2026 12:30

Oh I knew someone would pop along with this.

Maybe step back a bit. For a start, my posts didn't say anything about violence. I commented that some ND can be genetic and inherited. I studied this at uni 30 years ago when inheritance/genes were being researched.

Yours didn't. Others took it much further, that because he's got a child with ADHD, this child could be violent. This i deeply manipulative territory for someone who is in a very distressed and vulnerable state.

WellerUser · Yesterday 20:28

My concern is that your child could also be violent and attack you. Some of the nastier traits could be inherited, and Autism and ADHD are also inherited, so you could have a child with SEN and violence. And what if the baby looks exactly like your ex? Do you want to see your ex in your own child? Every day?

Horses7 · 25/09/2026 13:07

I’m so sorry you are going through this. Obviously having anything to do with this awful man is dangerous.
Would having the baby keep him in your life however part time that would be? What if the child looks just like him?
You need to make a decision about abortion with your head not your heart - you are not thinking straight but a decision has to be made.
You sound sensible and a nice person and you should ignore the insensitive/nasty replies on here.
I’ve tried to step back, look at the facts you’ve described and hard as it is I believe I would take those tablets.
You can restart your life afresh - believe it or not you are still young - many of my friends met their partners in their late thirties and had kids as late as 45.
Good luck and try to be strong.

EveryoneUsingOutro · 25/09/2026 13:02

cuckoolodger · 25/09/2026 08:55

Op, you keep saying you love him/loved him but the simple truth is that you didn’t even know him. He faked EVERYTHING and lied to you. You were in love with a (very shitty) illusion. You were easy to trick as you have a parent wound inside you that’s desperate to be filled up with love. I get it, I’ve been there myself and spent most of my life in therapy.But I’ll let you into a secret… nobody else can fill that gaping wound apart from you. You need to be gentle with yourself, you need to call your local mental health crisis team and get the support you need to do the right thing. Or be strong and see those pills as the very symbolic step of eradicating him from your life. Those pills cut the string that holds you together.

realistically a baby will make your life ten times harder and you will be even more unhappy. All you will do is compound your current mental health issues and multiply them and add another burden onto you and that burden could well turn out to be severely autistic and need 24 hour care for life.

invest in YOU. Get short term medical mental health intervention and long term therapy . Tell yourself every day that you are worth more. Go on a journey of self discovery and start a hobby that fills your heart with joy and gives you some self esteem. Build a decent foundation and create a happy fulfilled life. THAT is proper fertility, cultivating your own happy little garden and watching it bloom with a smile on your face. It’s not peeing on a stick and giving birth. There are plenty and plenty of shit parents out there as you know first hand. Don’t swell their ranks. Get your therapy, stand straight and proud and only when you are happy on your own and with your own company should you have a baby. I’m not saying don’t be in a relationship in time, I’m saying that ANY relationship can fail or end no matter how good, life happens. And single parent hood is hard even when you are mentally stable. Never mind when you are trauma bonded to the monster that’s made your life hell. Children need routine and peace and love, not drama addiction, abuse, physical violence and an emotional waste ground.

i really hope you come through this and make the right choice.

Great post.

Millytante · 25/09/2026 13:00

NattyEagle · 24/09/2026 21:22

How are you guys so sure that this can have no silver lining? Have any of you kept kids in these circumstances or is your privilege from being married and never meeting a man like this telling me to have a termination because you cannot imagine being in my shoes? If you can’t imagine being in my shoes, how do you know the right thing either way? I know it’s right to terminate but is the part of me that doesnt want to genuinely delusional? If you have not met or suffered a man like this, how do you actually know you would terminate?

Nobody needs direct experience of a man like this ex to hold the opinion that continuing with this pregnancy will very likely bring trouble and danger into your life for the next two decades.
Nobody is looking down from the lofty ‘privilege ‘ of marriage, either.

Some things are just glaringly obvious, and the course of action most likely to do you a great deal of good right now is an early-as-feasible termination.
Even if you are literally all alone in tne world, such a procedure is perfectly straightforward and you need no nursing, just a bit of common sense (and a delicious steak)

EveryoneUsingOutro · 25/09/2026 12:56

PurpleLovecats · 24/09/2026 23:27

you’ve had really good advice.

I just wanted to say, that I think you DO want this baby on some level. And that’s ok too you know?

Did you read OP post at 19.03?

EveryoneUsingOutro · 25/09/2026 12:39

Flightyflora · 24/09/2026 21:19

As I said in previous message , let us virtually handhold . We want to help . I’m so sorry your friends and family are shit . I’ve no family because mine were . This isn’t just about the abortion , you need therapy to look at valuing yourself and seeing your worth . It seems although you have found out some really vile stuff about him , he drove you to being suicidal . You need therapy to look at why you accepted that and to find ways to know your worth and not repeat .

I hope you can take some strength from the number of posters here, including me, who are willing you on to a better, healed life OP.

You deserve to find self respect and love for yourself first and then, if you want, progress your life on to major things like a healthy relationship/starting a family in whichever way works well for you.

AllezAllezPronto · 25/09/2026 12:30

Sotiredimightreallydie · 25/09/2026 11:10

But to say that the person's genes shouldn't be allowed to continue and that the child will probably attack the mother?

Absolutely there is an inherited element to ADHD, but most people with ADHD do not become violent, myself and my child included.

To assume the child will be violent based on purely his genes is horrid, and it's manipulative.

Since when did 'pro choice' mean using manipulation to persuade someone to abort? They're would be an uproar if it was the other way round.

Why can't we just support the op to make the decision that's right for her, target than trying to manipulate our guilt trip her into anything. It's perfectly fine if she chooses to abort, but it's perfectly fine if she wishes to continue as well. That's what choice means.

Oh I knew someone would pop along with this.

Maybe step back a bit. For a start, my posts didn't say anything about violence. I commented that some ND can be genetic and inherited. I studied this at uni 30 years ago when inheritance/genes were being researched.

AllezAllezPronto · 25/09/2026 12:27

In this case, the topic under discussion, some ND is inherited.

EveryoneUsingOutro · 25/09/2026 12:25

Beboo101 · 24/09/2026 20:31

Being a mum can have lots of challenging moments but it's also wonderful. My children are my favourite people in the world and my best memories involve them.
If you want to be a mum this can be your chance. If you don't want that man to be a part of your life anymore then you can cut him out of your life.
Do you have people that can help you with your child. Would your mum be able to babysit sometime?
Im lucky that I have a husband to help me but I also know people who are single mums that love their children and have no regrets with keeping their children.

Oh get real. The OP’s situation is nothing like this.

EveryoneUsingOutro · 25/09/2026 12:21

ChapmanFarm · 24/09/2026 20:21

You've talked a lot about feeling embarrassed by taking the pills.

Do you want to tell us why you feel like that?

Because to just about everyone here, it would be the braver and more selfless option. It doesn't make you a bad person if you decide to do it, it makes you one who has considered things beyond her own feelings.

Unfortunately the end of everything you wanted is tied emotionally to this. You are grieving what you wanted but that was never real. Be kind to yourself because it being a mirage doesn't lessen your grief at it no longer being here.

I think you will feel devastated afterwards but not because you made a bad decision but because it really does signify the end of this relationship. While you are pregnant there will always be a thread and however much you know it's right, it won't stop it being hard.

Perceptive post.

Having the abortion IS the strong thing to do OP.

Sotiredimightreallydie · 25/09/2026 12:20

StarPyjamas · 25/09/2026 12:08

I think some people have missed the OP saying she doesn't think she could love the baby anyway.

"I don’t think the product of such evil could be something I loved."

No, but I think you (and many others) may have missed this

I paid for a private clinic the day after he gave me the ultimatum. I also had a scan at the abortion clinic because at this point I had not spoken to his ex! I was delusional and thiught he was just freaking out! There was no heartbeat but a saw the tinnnnnnnyyyyy Little thing in my uterine cavity. I won’t lie and say I burst into tears overwhelmed with love and connection but it’s made this harder for sure.

Overwhelmed by love and connection. Obviously that's contradictory to other things she said, but that's because this is all very new and she is in hell right now, and has so many emotions floating around. She needs quiet space not pressure.

I don't think the op should have an abortion right now
I don't think the op should decide to have a baby right now.
I think sure should sleep on it for a week, no more because she'd said she's got strict limits on how far she'd be prepared to be, so we need to respect that. But she's early and can certainly give herself a week, so that whatever decision she makes is with a clear mind.

But people are pushing, pushing, pushing here. There's no support either way, it's pressure, and that's something the op has got more than enough of.

StarPyjamas · 25/09/2026 12:08

I think some people have missed the OP saying she doesn't think she could love the baby anyway.

"I don’t think the product of such evil could be something I loved."

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